The China Pavilion at the 2012 Yeosu World Expo in the Republic of Korea has chosen highly-endangered hump-backed dolphin as its mascot, the China Pavilion preparation committee said on Wednesday.

The theme of the pavilion will demonstrate the country's efforts to use the sea in a scientific way, with focus on marine environment protection and the connection between human beings and the ocean, said Zhao Zhenge, deputy secretary general of the pavilion preparation committee and Chinese government representative to the Expo.

The pavilion will be 1,241 square meters wide, the largest foreign one at the Expo.

The core piece of the pavilion is a theater, which will screen a film on the endangered hump-backed dolphins. Other projects will showcase the country's marine environmental protection and marine technology.

China Pavilion Day at the Expo will fall on June 28, 2012.

The pavilion will be capable to receive about 600,000 visitors during the three-month Expo, or about 6,400 people every day.

The Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphin is given the highest level of state protection in China, which means the marine mammal is as endangered as giant pandas.

The species largely lives in waters near northern Australia, Indonesia and southern China. It can also be found around the coastal rim of the Indian Ocean and southern Africa.

The ROK's 2012 Yeosu World Expo will last for 93 days from May 12 to Aug. 12, having attracted about 100 countries and international organizations in applying for participation.

The theme of the Expo is "The Living Ocean and Coast: Diversity of Resources and Sustainable Activities" with sub-themes of "Preservation and Sustainable Development of the Ocean and Coast," "New Resources Technology," and "Creative Marine Activities."